Summary: State Party Malawi was among the first 30 ratifications to trigger the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010. It has expressed its desire to enact national implementing legislation for the convention, but has yet to introduce draft legislation for parliamentary approval. Malawi has participated in several of the convention’s Meetings of States Parties, most recently in 2013, and voted in favor of a UN resolution in December 2015. It has elaborated its views on a number of important interpretative issues relating to implementation of the convention. In its initial transparency report for the convention provided in 2011, Malawi confirmed it has not used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions and has not retained any for training or research purposes.

Policy

The Republic of Malawi signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 7 October 2009. It was among the first 30 ratifications that triggered the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010.

Malawi has expressed its desire to adopt implementing legislation for the convention, but the exact status of the process was not known as of July 2016. Previously, in 2011, it reported that it intended to introduce draft implementing legislation for the convention for parliamentary approval.[1]

Malawi provided an initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 27 January 2011. As of 27 June 2016, it had not submitted any of the annual updated reports due by 30 April.[2]

Malawi participated in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and supported a comprehensive ban without exceptions.[3]

Malawi participated in the convention’s Meetings of States Parties in 2010, 2012, and 2013 as well as regional meetings on cluster munitions, most recently in Lusaka, Zambia in June 2015.[4] Malawi was invited to, but did not attend the convention’s First Review Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia in September 2015.

On 7 December 2015, Malawi voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which urges states outside the convention to “join as soon as possible.”[5] It has also voted in favor of UNGA resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in December 2014.[6]

Interpretive issues

Malawi has described the prohibitions contained in the Convention on Cluster Munitions as “absolute with no exception or loopholes.”[7] In March 2010, Malawi elaborated its views on a range of important issues related to interpretation and implementation of the convention, including that:

• Article 1(c) of the convention’s prohibition on assistance “should read to prohibit investments in CM [cluster munition] producers.”
• “As well as transfer, the transit of CM is prohibited” under the convention.
• “States Parties must not intentionally or deliberately assist, induce or encourage any prohibited activity” under the convention during joint military operations with states not party that may use cluster munitions.
• “There should be no stockpiling of CM of non-State Parties on the territory under the jurisdiction or control of a State Party and State Parties must ensure the destruction or removal of CM of foreign states on the territory.”
• The retention of cluster munitions for training and development “should be the exception and not the rule,” and those that do retain should only keep a “very limited number.”[8]

Malawi is party to the Mine Ban Treaty. Malawi is not party the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Malawi does not possess stockpiles, does not retain any cluster munitions for training or other purposes, and does not have facilities that produce cluster munitions.[9] Malawi is not known to have ever used or transferred cluster munitions.